Love and War
by inkwolf222
Summary: Emma has kept a secret from her entire family. Now it might just come back to bite her.


After leaving New York with Henry in tow, Emma had been too busy to think, let alone read. Between Zelena, breaking the curse and trying to bring back everybody's memories, they were swamped. Only after locking Zelena up and giving the Dark One's dagger to Belle did things finally start to slow down.

A month after they stopped Zelena's spell, everything was rebuilt, the town was calm and everyone had fallen into a routine. Emma and Regina would meet once a week at Granny's for 'work', Wednesdays and Fridays she had dinner at the mansion and Sundays were spent at the Charmings. Emma and Regina had formed a very close friendship, Robin and Regina had forgone their attempts at a relationship and things were even on the mend between Regina and Snow. Henry was loving every second of it.

His moms had decided he was finally old enough to decide where he wanted to stay so weekdays were spent at his moms' and weekends with either his grandparents, or a friend. After everyone's memories returned and his mother saved the town, he was the most popular kid in Storybrooke.

He was very happy.

He and Emma were busy unpacking the boxes in their new apartment (things had gotten a bit cramped at the loft), when he pulled out all the mail that had accumulated.

"Hey Ma, what do you want to do with all the mail?"

Emma peeked over the kitchen island to see what her son was pointing at.

"Oh! Just sift through it and throw away the junk mail. It's probably going to be the entire pile, but just to be sure."

Henry nodded and started making two piles, one significantly larger than the other. They were mostly spam with a bill or bank statement thrown in. Henry moved through the pile quickly, starting to sort through the last of the pile that they shipped to Storybrooke from their apartment in New York. He was humming a soft tune to himself when he abruptly stopped, staring at the envelope in his hands.

Emma came walking into the kitchen. She needed help moving the dining room table and had called Henry twice now but he still hadn't answered. She frowned when she saw him standing stock still, staring sightlessly at the counter. She walked up behind him and gasped when she saw it.

Her sharp intake of breath was finally able to wake Henry from his stupor. He turned around slowly, looking at her with unshed tears and saw the moisture gather in her eyes as well. He flung his arms around her and they hugged each other tightly. He prayed to every deity he knew, _Please don't let her go. _But they both knew what that emblem meant.

XXXX

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Regina could feel it. She surmised that, that was why Snow had called a family meeting. Though two very important members weren't going to be there. Ever since Henry had finished moving into the new loft, he has been very subdued. He still tried to act like himself but he didn't laugh nearly as much. He constantly complained of a headache whenever she asked if something was wrong and would always ask to be excused early. Except when Emma was around. He was very clingy towards his blonde mother all of a sudden, going so far as to cancel the last two weekends with his grandparents in favor of staying with Emma.

As Regina sank into the booth across from Snow and David she could see the worried expressions on their faces. They all sat around the table in silence after ordering their coffee. Ruby just gave them a sympathetic smile. She had noticed that something was off as well.

"We have to find out what's wrong." It was David that broke the silence. "It's killing me not knowing what's bothering them." Snow nodded her head.

Regina hummed in agreement. "What do you suppose we do?" she asked. She was bothered as well. Not just about Henry, but Emma too. The blonde was very special to Regina, though she refused to admit to herself why she cared so much. At least she was doing a better job of hiding the bags under her eyes than Snow. It seems that none of them were getting enough sleep. Especially not Emma.

Tearing her attention away from Emma's lack of sleep, Regina tuned back into the conversation to hear the plan.

XXXX

Emma sat on the couch in her new apartment holding, what she had dubbed The Cursed Letter, in her hand. After seeing her parents and Regina at the diner half an hour ago she knew it would only be a matter of time before they wouldn't take the "I'm fine's" anymore. They would be demanding an answer soon.

She softly stroke her thumb over the governmental seal. She hadn't opened the envelope yet. She was too scared. It had been years since they last called upon her. She supposed she should've opted for that Honorable Discharge when she came back from her second tour to Iraq.

Sighing, she finally opened it.

_Lt. E. Swan_

_You are hereby ordered to report for duty…._

She felt the tears starting to burn. She had to report back for active duty in two weeks. They were sending her away again.

She threw the letter across the room and started pacing. Yes, she had signed up for this years ago, but she finally felt as if her life was back on track after Henry came to find her and everything that happened afterwards. She grabbed her gear out of the only unmarked box and quickly slipped her pants and boots on. If she was going for a run, she might as well just get used to doing it right.

XXXX

Regina sincerely hoped that this plan would work. At the diner it had sounded rather simple but now she wasn't so sure. Emma had a knack for reacting in the least expected ways. But none the less, here they were, she, the Charmings and Henry, with food in tow, standing in front of Emma's new apartment door. Henry didn't know of the plan but they needed to talk to both of them.

Snow knocked on the door for the fifth time.

"I told you, you should've called first Grams." Henry piped up.

"I tried to, Henry, but Mulan said she took the afternoon off and she hasn't been answering her phone." she said. Henry just rolled his eyes and shoved past them to unlock the door. It had started raining and now it was basically a torrential downpour and he was starting to freeze in the hallway.

He pushed open the door but frowned when the lights weren't on. He quickly flipped the switch and called out to his mother. When she didn't answer he could feel his nerves tingling. He quickly moved to the sitting area and found Emma's jeans and shoes on the floor, her phone on the coffee table next to the torn envelope and he could feel is heart start to race.

Regina saw her son's mood go from exasperated to worried in the blink of an eye. She followed him to the couch and only frowned in confusion when she saw Emma's clothes on the floor. The apartment was surprisingly organized except for the pair of jeans and boots on the floor. She glanced at Henry but he seemed to only grow more anxious at the sight, his eyes darting around the room searching for something.

He spied the piece of paper next to the television and practically leapt over the table to grab it. He clutched it in his hands while quickly reading it over.

"Oh no…" he whispered.

"Henry?"

"What's wrong?"

His mother and grandmother asked at the same moment but Henry didn't pay them any attention. He looked up from the piece of paper and his eyes zeroed in on the opened box. He scrambled towards it to take a look inside, the lack of contents along with the letter only confirming his fears. He sagged into the couch and stared out the window at the typhoon grade rain and thunder outside.

Regina tried to pry the offending piece of paper out of Henry's hands to see what had sparked this reaction but he had it in a death-grip. She shook his shoulder and he finally snapped out of his trance.

"What's wrong?" she tried again.

"Ma is stuck out in the woods." Her eyes widened at his statement. She glanced at Snow and David but they looked like they were about to throw up. She looked back at Henry.

"How do you know?" she asked softly. The certainty of his previous statement had her stomach roiling.

"She's been putting off reading this," she assumed he was referring to the letter. "Now it's open, we can't find her anywhere, her phone is here and her gear is gone." She frowned.

"What 'gear'?"

"Her supply backpack, cargoes and boots. They're gone."

She didn't understand but clearly he wasn't going to elaborate on the 'gear'. She switched tactics.

"What makes you think she's out in the woods?"

He sighed. "Archie told her that whenever she feels overwhelmed or when she needs to clear her head, she should make use of the forests and go for a run or take a hike. Seeing as Storybrooke doesn't have a gym, this was the best and healthiest ways to get rid of her anxieties. This letter would've left her feeling like that."

Regina blinked.

"I didn't know Emma went to see Archie." Snow tried. Henry sighed.

"She's been seeing him twice a week ever since she decided to stay in town."

They all took a moment to absorb the information. She hadn't known Emma was seeing Dr. Hopper, and by the look on their faces, neither had Snow or Charming. Snow opened her mouth to say something but Henry cut her off.

"I am not telling you why. It's not my secret to share." He shot a meaningful glance towards his grandmother. Snow just closed her mouth and nodded.

"What do we do now?" his Grandfather asked. Henry just looked at him with an expression of such sorrow, it cut him to the quick.

"Now, we wait."

XXXX

Emma kept on moving, sporadically swiping at the sweat and rain gathering on her brow. She had been so consumed with her own thoughts when she started her trek she hadn't paid any attention to the gathering storm clouds. Now she was weaving her way down the mountain path in the pouring rain with only a rain poncho that was doing a better job of sticking to her skin than keeping her dry. _At least it's Regina's week, _she thought. She would've hated for Henry to be out in the rain and she knows he wouldn't have let her go off on her own.

_I wonder what they're eating, _her stomach grumbled at the thought. She loves Regina's cooking almost as much as she loves Regina. She hasn't told her this, she hasn't told Regina about a lot of things. Actually just one thing, the very thing that has her moving at a snail's pace to the tarmac a mile away. She hasn't told any of them, with the exception of Henry, that she was a Marine. Hasn't told any of them she's still on active duty. She didn't think she'd need to. Didn't think she'd ever have to explain to them why she's going thousands of miles away to a place they can't visit and that has crappy cellphone service. She'd thought after her last tour that all they'd ask of her is to become a trainer at Quantico, maybe become an analyst. She snorted at her naiveté. They wouldn't put one of their best and most decorated on a desk. No, they'd send her off to some God forsaken desert to lead a specialized task force. Even offer a promotion as incentive. She loves her country, has served it ever since she turned eighteen, but she had finally found her _home._

She huffed at herself. This train of thought is getting her nowhere, and right now, she wanted a hot cocoa and an even hotter shower. She started jogging as soon as her foot touched tarmac.

XXXX

Dinner was a quiet affair. Henry was the only one willing to eat much to the surprise of his mother. Apparently Henry wasn't upset in quite the manner that she thought. Though the worry over Emma and the uncertainty of not knowing had kept her appetite at bay. Snow was pacing in the kitchen and David was looking around, trying to keep his mind off things. Henry was sitting in the couch. He sat there after finishing his dinner and had only moved once, to shut the unmarked box after he had packed Emma's jeans and boots and his Grandmother tried to peek inside. The glare he gave her was enough to melt flesh and would've been funny in any other circumstance.

Nobody knew what to do. They were all itching to go out and search for Emma but the fact that Henry stayed put when he was usually first out the door kept them where they were. The tension in the room was making everybody antsy. Neither Snow, Charming nor Regina could sit still for more than a minute. Henry was the only one who was even remotely calm. Regina was just about to ask him if he wanted something for the twentieth time when she heard pounding footsteps in the hallway. Snow heard it as well because she was pulling open the front door just as a soaked Emma came jogging up the stairs.

In a complete paradox, all the adults stood frozen, gaping at a heaving Emma in the doorway, as Henry jumped up and grabbed a couple of towels. He pulled his blonde mother inside the warm apartment and handed her a towel. The sound of the door shutting finally spurred the rest into action.

"EMMA!" they shouted in unison and the rest was just a flurry of motion. In short order Snow had Emma out of her wet clothes while David made her some cocoa and Regina grabbed her robe from the bathroom. As Henry wrapped her in some kind of silver blanket, Regina really looked at her. Aside from being wet and her lips and fingertips being blue, Emma didn't look any different. She certainly didn't seem surprised to see all of them in her apartment. It almost looked as if she had expected it.

They all settled down when David handed Emma her mug and breathed a sigh of relief as they sat down. But now that the worry was finally clearing, the anger was trying to break free. Before any of them could utter a word, Emma motioned towards her clothes. Henry shot up, handed her the piece of paper he had read earlier and refused to let them see, gathered the pants and shirt, left the boots and disappeared down the hall. She took a sip before she started speaking.

"Firstly, none of you are going to badger Henry about what I am going to tell you. I made him promise to keep this a secret until I felt the time was right. Second, we are not going to start yelling. As soon as one voice is raised, I am kicking you out of my apartment. Third, you will not bombard me with all your questions at once. You will ask them calmly, one at a time and allow me the chance to answer. Fourth, you will not interrupt when I speak and I'll do the same. If you do not adhere to my rules, I will kick you out and I won't speak of it again. Understood?" Everybody nodded, shell-shocked at her sudden commanding tone.

"When I was arrested, my original sentence was for 5 years. I had a decent lawyer who got the judge to reconsider. I was given a choice: go to prison or enlist in the Marines. I chose the Marines. But when I found out I was pregnant I had to wait a year. Since I didn't have a home and they needed to keep an eye on me, I was sent to a minimum security prison. I stayed there until I gave birth and my body was ready to take the toll of training.

I threw myself into my work. I gave it my all. I quickly became one of the best and climbed the ranks. I did one tour in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. I had just come home from Iraq when Henry found me. I hadn't been discharged but I managed to get transferred to reservist. It wasn't easy and I was assured that I probably wouldn't get called back for duty unless it was training. That hope, however, has just been crushed." She held up the letter and then gave it to Regina. "I have just been called back to active duty. They want me to head a task force. I have to be in Washington in two weeks."

Regina couldn't believe it. She read and reread the letter several times before passing it on to Snow. _They're sending her away. They are sending my Love away… _the thought kept circling in her head. She snapped to attention when her mind zeroed in on that one word.

_Love_

She absolutely, unequivocally loved this woman. She shook her head, she had to focus on other things.

"How long will you be gone?" she cursed her quivering voice.

"Not sure. Might be a few months, might be two years."

The thought of not seeing Emma for two years twisted her guts into a painful knot. Sure, they had just gone a year without contact but this was different. Emma would be in a war-zone, surrounded by guns and bombs where the threat of attack was present 24/7.

She could feel her rage starting to simmer. She was absolutely furious. At the government. At Emma. At herself. For the first time after Daniel, she finally finds someone who has managed to break down all her walls and now she might possibly die, leaving Regina alone and broken again. She had to do something, she had to deal with this, she had to walk away. She stood up and stalked towards Emma. Instead of walking past and towards the door, she grabbed the blonde, pulled her up and kissed her. Hard. She could feel her rage turn to tears as she cradled Emma's face. When a sob burst forth she tore her lips from Emma's and buried her face in her neck. Strong arms came up and held her firmly to the warm body she was clutching at. She cried even harder, lowering all her walls for the first time, she allowed herself to break down.

As she hugged Emma ever closer, she kept pleading into golden locks, "Please don't leave me."

XXXX

Emma looked at the picture of her, Regina and Henry at her farewell party. After their talk, it was thought to be better to inform the entire town that Emma would be leaving and why. Ruby, in true fashion, decided it would be fun to throw a big bash to send her off with. "So that you'll miss us so much, you'll be begging to come back." She'd said. Emma didn't need a party though, if she could've she would've stayed. Especially since she and Regina had only just confessed their love.

She sighed as she stared at the beautiful brunette. Nobody had batted an eye when they started dating. Her parents were overjoyed, when the shock of seeing Regina cry finally wore off. She sighed again. She put the photo in her left breast pocket, right over her heart. It had been 13 months since that picture had been taken. They talked as often as they could, writing letters on the days when it wasn't possible to speak. She had never felt home-sickness like this before. Luckily she had received news that she'd be returning home in 4 months. The thought of home made her smile in spite of the longing. This had been her longest and her hardest tour yet and she couldn't wait to kiss her son and hold her girlfriend in her arms once again.

Her bliss was shattered when out of nowhere an RPG came flying straight at them, flipping the Humvee like a ragdoll. Chaos erupted as their convoy was attacked. Bullets flew and orders were shouted. Emma ran to a burning Humvee as the rest of her squad fell back and tried to take cover from the onslaught of bullets. She had pulled two of the men clear and was grabbing the last one when a shout of "Sergeant!" had her looking up. She saw the grenade making its way toward the leaking engine. She grabbed her comrade and they ran as fast as they could. She had just caught a glimpse of their back-up helicopter when her second-in-command shouted, "Cover!"

Everything went dark.

XXXX

Regina was busy drying the dishes when the phone rang. She picked it up and held it to her ear as she answered.

"Hello?" she picked up another dish.

It shattered to the floor as the other kept on speaking.

XXXX

Emma stirred. The soft stroking of her hand was very comforting. She tried to open her eyes but the overhead lights were too bright. The stroking stopped. She made a noise of protest ad tried to catch the warmth of the hand that had held hers. She tried to open her eyes, to tell the person to continue stroking. She blinked her eyes slowly this time, trying to get them to adjust. When her vision finally focused she stared into the coffee colored eyes she had so often seen in her dreams.

"Regina?" she croaked. Her throat felt like sandpaper.

"Shhhh…" the brunette shushed her and held a cup with some water to her lips. "Take it easy there soldier." She smiled. Emma returned her smile. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"What happened?" she asked. Regina's smile waned a bit.

"They didn't tell me everything. Just that your unit was attacked and that you got hit by some shrapnel when you tried to save one of your squad members." She stated quietly. Emma remembered the Humvee leaking gas and someone shouting her name but things were a little foggy. She shook her head to try and clear the fog. She finally took in her surroundings.

"Where are we? When did you get here? Where is Henry?" she tried to sit up. Regina gently but firmly pushed her back down.

"Henry is back home in Storybrooke. I came as soon as they called me. Apparently someone changed their contact information and listed me as their next of kin." She glared playfully at Emma. The blonde tried to shrug but a searing pain in her left shoulder had her gasping for air.

"Stay still you idiot." The brunette admonished. She pushed a button to side before returning to Emma's bed. "A piece of shrapnel embedded itself in your shoulder. The doctors had to surgically remove it. We are in a military hospital in Germany, where we will be staying until the doctor says you can go home." The brunette just glared when she tried to protest.

Sufficiently cowed, the blonde just murmured a quiet, "Yes Ma'am" when a nurse came in followed by a doctor.

XXXX

Regina was busy telling her all about Henry's latest shenanigans when there was a knock at the door. She looked up and saw her CO standing in the doorway.

"Mind if I come in, Sergeant?" he addressed her but he was clearly asking Regina. Everyone knew that a pissed off spouse or loved one was to be handled with the utmost care, and Emma just knew that Regina had left one helluva mark judging by the timid way he had asked.

Regina's instant glare only confirmed her suspicions but she nodded nonetheless.

"I've just spoken to your doctor. He tells me that your arm is going to be okay?"

She nodded. "Yes Sir. I should be discharged later today if everything checks out."

"He also told me that your arm might never be the same, even after physical therapy." She just nodded again. She really didn't want to think about the fact that she might never regain full use of her arm. Luckily Regina jumped in.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Colonel. Now was there a reason you came besides badgering my Love with details you obviously already know?" her venomous tone almost made her feel sorry for the man.

"Ah, yes, actually. Given your brave action, you are being honored with a Purple Heart…" Emma just gaped at him. She couldn't believe her ears. She was so flabbergasted she almost missed the last part. "…due to your injuries you are being discharged with full Honors." He looked frighteningly close to fidgeting under Regina's scrutiny.

"Y-you mean, I, um, I'm going home?" she managed to stutter.

For the first time since he walked in he seemed to relaxing. He even smiled at her.

"Yes, soldier. You're going home a war hero."


End file.
